The Fire Nation Royal Academy for Girls
by Discreetly
Summary: Azula's school life. Her first meeting with Mai and Ty Lee and more.
1. Rival

_An: Good lord. I've done it again. I've written fan fiction. I just keep coming back like the masochist I am. Sigh._

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><p>It was close, Azula realized.<p>

If she had gotten one more question wrong or if the other girl had gotten one more right... They would've been even. She grimaced at the thought. Azula had topped the testscores as per usual, but usually it was by a margin of twenty or thirty points. This was two.

The princess stared up at the board and traced the score number to its name. Mai Lobsang. Azula blinked. Who in the hell was Mai Lobsang?

She should've known everyone there was to know. If they were important enough they would've met her at some royal feast or another. If they were smart enough they would've introduced themselves at whatever chance they could. But Azula had never heard of this Mai Lobsang.

The gap between Mai and the next student was huge, as it normally was for Azula and the second-best. Where had this girl been all this time? The name Mai hadn't been in the list of the top 15 of the last exam, but there was simply no way she could've shot up that fast from some low rank to nearly matching Azula herself.

Azula glanced behind herself and found a girl with heavy black bangs looking up at the test results as well. "You there," Azula called out, her seven year old voice already iron with command, "Do you know who Mai Lobsang is?"

The girl jumped at being suddenly addressed. She fidgeted and stared a moment at Azula before finally nodding her head.

"Is she a transfer or something?" Azula demanded, "Is that why I haven't seen her before?"

Again, the girl took a second before nodding meekly.

Something clicked inside of Azula's head. Azula looked at the girl more carefully. She was pale and reed-thin, likely having spent most of her time indoors reading a book and sitting about. Her bangs came down so solidly it was a wonder she could see through them, but the faintest gleam made it clear her eyes were there and watching. Still, from the awkward way the girl stood and her slouched posture, it was clear she was just a bookworm. Azula couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"You're Mai Lobsang, right?" Azula asked with a sigh.

The girl's cheeks immediately flushed, "Yes."

Not much of a talker, though Azula couldn't say she was surprised. This Mai was already shaping up to be the typical shy studious type. "Do you know who I am, Mai?"

"Yes." Mai blinked and then quickly added, "Princess Azula."

The girl's first words other than "yes", Azula noted with satisfaction. Still, the girl should have confessed who she was the instant Azula asked about Mai Lobsang. If she had, Azula thought with a tinge of annoyance, this conversation would have been over a whole lot sooner.

Then a splendidly wicked idea came into Azula's head and she could barely contain her smile as she asked, "Were you trying to hide from me, Mai?".

"N-no, Princess!" The girl shook her head and her bangs swung back and forth.

"No," Azula stated flatly, "I think you were."

"What..." Mai's mouth made a small o as she looked helplessly at the princess.

A smirk played on Azula's lips. "Perhaps you were trying to hide from me because of your guilty conscience. Because you cheated on that test. You almost beat the princess too, but even stealing the answers wasn't enough."

The girl jumped at that. "What?"

"You heard me, cheater." Azula said, putting as much contempt as she could in that one word.

"I... I didn't cheat..." Mai's voice had gotten very small and she looked firmly down at the ground.

Azula laughed. "Then how did you do almost as well as me?"

"I... I studied really hard."

"That's a dumb answer, Mai." Azula rolled her eyes, "You'd have to do more than just study to even think of beating me."

"I wasn't thinking of beating you..." The girl was shaking a little. Azula hoped she wasn't crying. She hated when people did that.

"You're gonna have to stop lying all the time, Mai." The princess took a step towards the trembling girl and was delighted to discover she was taller - if only by an inch, "Did you know that lying to the Royal family is a crime? You could get put in prison."

Mai kept her head down as she spoke, "I'm not lying."

Azula blinked at that. The girl had a little more guts than Azula thought she would. "So you're calling me a liar, then. Is that right?" When Mai didn't say anything, Azula pressed harder, "Are you going to keep me waiting for an answer now? Should I add that to your list of crimes?"

"No..." Mai answered finally. "I'm sorry. You're not a liar."

And there it was, the young princess leaned back an easy smile on her face. "So good of you to understand, Mai. I won't have to tell anyone else about how you cheated. It'll be our little secret."

The timid girl didn't say anything, only kept her head down.

It was time to finish the little bookworm's school career once and for all. "Just one thing, Mai. It's hard to keep a secret like that if you stand out so much." Azula leaned forward and whispered, "They'll be posting test scores next week, Mai. Hopefully I won't find you."

Then with one last flash of a smirk, Azula turned away. It was a shame that the girl's hair covered so much of her face, it would have been nice to see her eyes when Azula accused her of cheating. The seven year old princess gave a little giggle and cheerfully walked down the -

A ball of crumpled paper hit the back of Azula's head. It bounced off lightly and landed on the floor with a quiet rustle. It didn't hurt, but it made Azula stop. Slowly she turned.

Mai was trembling and the little bit of the girl's face that Azula could see was completely red. "I... Idiot!" The girl cried out, her voice squeaking in an almost menacing way, "I wasn't thinking of beating you before! But I sure am now!" The girl heaved a few huge breaths and then just as quickly as her rage appeared, it was gone and the girl turned tail and ran away.

Azula should have been mad, furious even. She should've chased the girl down and had her punished. How dare that Mai girl throw something at her? To even think of raising a hand against her royal person was a crime. But Azula couldn't muster up any rage, try as she might. Any inkling of anger was swallowed up by an entirely different emotion. Excitement.

The princess reached down and picked up the crumpled piece of paper. It was the test results. She looked at that name again, just below hers. Mai Lobsang. Her very first rival.

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><p><em>AN: Azula meets Ty Lee, next chapter.<em>


	2. About to Lose

The teachers at the Academy only picked the hottest days for outdoors gym time. Or at least it seemed that way. Azula guessed that the teachers just liked to see all the students sweat.

Azula's class was being put together with another one of the same year. The teachers had spent most of the day assembling an obstacle course out on the field. The two classes would run through and be timed on their performance. Even though the teachers insisted that this was just an exercise, Azula saw through the lie. It was a race and she was going to win it.

The young princess scanned the field, running through the obstacle course in her mind. From the starting line there was a sprint of 20 or so meters and then a wall climb of 2 meters and right after that, another climb of the same height. Monkey bars, a few hurdles and one more sprint of 30 meters to the finish line.

It was a little more intense than the class's usual affair of volleyball and her classmates groaned at the sight of the course. Azula smiled though, she could do this. It would be tough and all the weaklings would flop back to the ground before the very first wall. But Azula would vault over that wall and the next and blaze through the rest of the course. She was going to be the best as she always was.

The teacher called for everyone to get to the starting line and Azula was the first to reach it. The losers took their time.

A girl stepped up to the starting line next to Azula. For some odd reason, the girl turned towards Azula and gave her a big toothy grin, "Good luck."

A suspicious stare was all the response Azula gave.

"Again, kids," The teacher said loudly as she put her whistle to her lips, "This is not a race! Just finish the course as best you can and we'll take note!"

Stupid, Azula thought, the very fact that they were recording the times made it a race. Anyone who didn't realize that was an idiot.

"On my mark!"

Azula bent low, her legs ready to spring and her hands down on the ground to keep her balanced. She took a glance at her competition and noted with satisfaction that all the other girls were just lazing about. With one exception. The girl next to her. The brown-haired girl took a stance similar to hers and took a long steadying breath.

It didn't matter, Azula would win even if the girl copied her starting position.

"Get set!"

...

"Go!"

She launched off the floor like a fireball and flew towards the first wall.

There was something wrong though, Azula realized immediately. It was a nagging in the back of her head, that although her start had been perfect and she'd be at the wall in just a moment... something was not right.

The path from the starting line to the wall should have been clear of obstacles, it should have been a straight run across. But there was something else, a dark red blur (the same color of the Academy uniform) with a... brown mop of hair.

Azula was staring at the back of a girl. The very same girl who wished her good luck.

The princess almost ran into the wall before she woke up from her shock. The brown haired girl had just started climbing. This had never happened before, Azula thought to herself as she pulled the wall's rope into her hands, no one was faster than her. No one.

She gritted her teeth and hoisted herself up onto the wall. One hand over another until she reached the top. She chanced a glance at the other girl and saw that the other girl was having trouble climbing, only in the middle of scaling the wall. Azula was ahead, not as much as she would've liked, but it would have to do. Azula jumped down the wall, ignoring the rope that the babies would need to ease their way down. She made for the next wall and climbed it with the same fury as the first one. When she reached the top, she took another glance for the girl and grinned this time. The other girl was only just now starting the second wall.

Azula moved onto the monkey bars. And then the hurdles. She didn't bother looking off behind her or to the side might've been the faintest bob of brown in the corner of her eye, but Azula just pushed herself harder until there was nothing but the course in front of her.

Finally, it was the last stretch of the race. The seven year old princess could already feel the exhaustion all over her body. Her arms and legs had seen more action in the last five minutes than they normally did in a whole day and they screamed at her for rest. Azula grimaced and shook off that brief feeling of weakness and threw her legs into motion.

She was nearly there, Azula knew, it was only a little further and she'd win. But again, that horrible feeling of uncertainty crept up on her. Azula had already seen that girl run and as much as she hated (loathed) to admit it, the girl was a faster runner. Not just by a little, but a lot.

So she had to look, she had to see. Azula, still running as hard as she could, looked behind herself.

No! No! Nononono! The girl had caught up, she was only a few steps behind. She was as tired as Azula, but still she ran faster. It wasn't fair, Azula wanted to cry out, she had done better on the wall and nearly everything else, didn't that mean anything? The princess could hear the girl's feet hitting the ground now. The sound rained down on her, so much quicker and precise than her plodding feet. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair.

The girl's brown hair came bouncing into view, slowly but surely and that's when Azula knew that if she wanted to win, she'd have to do something fast. It was a split second decision, the first idea that seemed good enough to put her back in the race and Azula went with it.

The princess threw her whole body into one huge step, it was the last spurt of energy you put into crossing the finish line, except this time she wasn't trying to cross the line, she was crossing in front of the other girl.

They collided at catastrophic speeds. Azula felt herself spinning head over heels and the ground seemed to be coming at her from all angles. She pulled herself into a ball in the nick of time and felt her arms hit the ground hard, the shock arcing through her entire body and she bounced in the air. Her back rolled across the ground next and finally her feet were on the ground. Still rolling, Azula managed to find her footing and sprang back up, it only took her another second to judge where she had to run and then she did.

Azula crossed the finish line and smirked as she saw that she was first. She turned to ask the teacher what her time had been, but the muscular woman was gone. It took a moment, but Azula finally spotted the teacher helping the other girl to her feet from where she had fallen face-first. The girl was bleeding freely from both nostrils and she stumbled, only standing because the teacher had a firm grip on her.

The teacher and the girl slowly walked over to where Azula was. The teacher was frantic as she spoke, "Azula, are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Azula said flatly. She couldn't stop looking at how much blood was coming out of the other girl's face.

"Azula, look at your arms."

She did. "Oh." That was a lot of blood, too. Azula looked up at the teacher, "It doesn't hurt or anything."

"Hopefully it's just a scrape. Still, better get you to the nurse." The teacher took Azula's hand and began to walk the two injured girls back into the Academy building.

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><p><em>AN: Poor Azula. It sucks not being the best at everything ever. <em>

_Heh._


	3. Speechless

The students called her nurse, but really she was a doctor. A retired surgeon. The other teachers called her Kana so Azula did, too.

The old woman took one look at Azula and the girl with the bloody nose and immediately leapt into action. Kana thanked the gym teacher and shooed the other woman away as she swept past Azula and laid the other girl down in a hospital bed. The doctor put Azula in a chair, gave her some towels and told her to wait a while.

Azula wanted to tell her that princesses shouldn't have to wait, but Kana had already moved over to the bed and was leaning over the bloodied girl. The red had mixed with snot so it clung to the girl's face even as the doctor wiped it away. "Not so bad, dear..." Azula heard Kana mutter, although she didn't think the other girl was paying much attention, "Just a little bit of blood. Maybe a slight concussion, but nothing too bad. You'll be better in a moment."

There was a groan in response and Kana frowned. For a while the old surgeon just sat there quietly wiping away the blood. Finally she turned to look at Azula, "Dear. I need to get some extra medicine for you and your friend. Just wipe off your arms for now and make sure she," The doctor pointed firmly at the bedridden girl, "does NOT get up or fall asleep. Can you do that for me, sweetie?"

Again, disobedience crossed Azula's mind, but she decided against it. "Okay, Kana."

"That's a good girl." And then Kana hurried out of the room leaving Azula alone with the girl who was faster than her.

Quietly, Azula got up and went to the seat next to the bed. Her arms still bled a little, so she had to keep wiping at it. The scrape was starting to hurt, but it wasn't very much so she ignored it.

The other girl had been mostly cleaned up and her nose wasn't pouring blood anymore. Her eyes were partially open and occasionally they would glance at Azula, but then they'd lose focus and move onto something else. The girl wasn't as pretty she was, Azula decided, her face was too round and her nose a little too big. She did have nice eyes, even half-open Azula could tell that they were big and brown.

Nothing Azula saw told her why this girl would be able to run faster than her. She wasn't much bigger or taller than Azula. Her legs looked to be just as strong as Azula's. Worst of all, she wasn't the highest breed of nobility, her brown eyes made that clear. She couldn't have been a commoner - their kind wasn't allowed in the Royal Academy - so she must have been part of some minor house.

Azula stared at the girl, frowning. The girl was breathing softer now, her eyes closed. She almost looked like she was sleeping.

The princess blinked. "Hey!" She shouted and pushed the girl, "Wake up!"

"Huh?" The girl stirred and looked up at Azula. "Oh... Hi."

"Dumb-dumb," Azula said firmly, "You're not supposed to fall asleep."

"Oh." The girl pushed her lips together and pouted, but even that seemed strained. "Why not?"

"How am I supposed to know? I'm not a doctor."

"Then I'll just," The girl yawned, "rest a little."

"Hey!" Azula shouted again. If Kana came back and found the girl sleeping with Azula just sitting there, she'd get in trouble for sure. "Hey! Tell me your name!"

Brown eyes flicked open to meet Azula's and this time they seemed a little more alive. "My name's Ty Lee." The girl said, "What's yours?"

How could anyone not know who she was? But Azula answered without scolding the girl, "I am Princess Azula."

"Princess is a weird name."

"Dumb-dumb!" Azula snapped, "That's not my name, that's what I am!"

"Oh." Ty Lee lay there for a moment, puckered her lips, closed her eyes and let out a long "hmmm". The sound stretched on till it seemed like the girl was trying to become some sort monk. Then the "hm" stopped and she just lay there with her eyes closed.

It took a moment for Azula to realize why. "Wake up!" She cried out and pushed Ty Lee awake again. "Stop falling asleep!"

"Sorrysorry" The girl mumbled.

This was the girl that nearly beat her? It didn't make any sense, how could someone so... so... relaxed be faster than her? If someone had told her that this Ty Lee was the fastest girl in school, Azula would have told that person they didn't know anything.

But there was no mistaking it. The girl had outrun Azula not once, but twice and the princess was not so stupid as to forget that.

"Hey Ty Lee," Azula said, putting as much force behind her seven year old voice as she could, "Why are you so fast?"

There was a pause. Ty Lee's face scrunched up as she worked to get her brain moving. And then finally, "I don't know. I don't think I'm that fast."

Azula didn't know what she would have done if Kana hadn't walk into the room right then.

"Thanks for watching over her, Azula. Here's another towel, I'll give you some disinfectant in just a second." Kana smiled and then moved over to Ty Lee. She cupped the back of the girl's head in one head and brought up a little bottle to her lips, "Okay, dear, just drink this and you'll feel a lot better."

The princess moved over to the other side of the room as the doctor did her job. The scrapes on her arms had begun to ache, but Azula wasn't thinking of that. Her thoughts were on Ty Lee. OF COURSE YOU WERE FAST, YOU STUPID GIRL, YOU NEARLY BEAT ME. I'M NOT SLOW, I KNOW I'M NOT. YOU HAVE TO BE FAST. She had never wanted someone dead as much as she did then.

Ty Lee downed the whole bottle and Kana said it was alright if the girl fell asleep now. The doctor moved over to Azula now and took out another bottle. "Give me your arms, dear."

The blood had stopped, it was only red raw marks that the medicine was spread on. It hurt more than actually falling on the ground did, but Azula couldn't bring herself to care. She was still glaring at the other girl.

Kana said some other worthless things and wrapped bandages around Azula's arms. Then the old woman declared with a cheerful tone, "Okay, you're all better now Azula. You can go back to class if you like."

"I'll do that." Azula said flatly and moved to the door.

It was a small, sleepy voice that stopped the young princess. "Azula..."

She turned around and looked at Ty Lee. The little brown-haired girl was smiling even as her eyelids worked their way down.

"Thanks for talking with me. And... making sure I didn't..." There was a tiny yawn, "fallasleep." And then the girl was snoring softly.

For the first time, Azula literally could not think of anything - much less what to say in response. Five seconds of the princess's life simply vanished, it was like her mind had been shocked into oblivion.

She stood there until the worried voice of Kana called out to her. Azula didn't know what the old woman said, but she nodded anyways and walked away.

Maybe she could live with not being the best at everything. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But then Azula shook her head of that insane thought and walked on.

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><p><em>AN: This was a hard chapter to write.<em>

_Also, next chapter, Azula gets scared.  
><em>


	4. Family Ties

Azula could have gone to class, but she had more important things to do. First Mai, then Ty Lee. Both were a complete surprise and surprises meant you were vulnerable. Azula needed to research, she needed to be prepared.

The teacher's faculty room was a short way from the nurse's office and Azula walked into the room without even knocking. It was still the middle of the day so most of the teachers were busy with class, the few who weren't hung out here.

The student files would be the fastest way to find out anything. It'd be everyone's test scores and physical exam records. Anyone who was remarkable in any way, Azula would be able to find them. The only problem was getting them. Only teachers were supposed to read those files, but Azula figured she could get around that little rule.

There was Ms. Sung, Azula saw, hunched over her desk looking at a paper. She was reading intensely, her glasses nearly falling off her face before she pushed them back up. Ms. Sung taught arithmetic and beyond her given subject, was an idiot. Azula began to approach her.

The puppy-dog eyes was an old and tired technique, Azula wouldn't bother with that one. Besides she had an advantage most other kids didn't. She was royalty. A couple thinly-veiled threats if Ms. Sung didn't help her and perhaps a hint that Azula would tell her father who her favorite teacher was... Ms. Sung would be eating out of Azula's hand. The thought of it made her smile.

Azula stopped when another teacher - bigger and leaner than Ms. Sung would ever be - walked in front of her, blocking her way.

"What are you doing here?" The woman rumbled. Her voice was a deep bass and so forceful, Azula was tempted to salute.

An interruption, but not permanently. Azula could handle this.

"I just wanted to ask Ms. Sung some questions." Azula replied innocently.

"You're missing classes." The teacher stated flatly.

Azula couldn't tell who exactly this woman was, she was standing too close and was too tall. Her face seemed far away.

"I know, but I really need to talk to Ms. Sung." Azula stretched out the "really" the way only a seven year old could. It didn't take much to get her way at the Academy.

The woman stared at Azula for a while and then turned to her colleague. "Hey, Sanda," The big teacher grabbed Azula by the arm and yanked the seven year old to follow, "This kid says she wants to talk to you."

Ms. Sung looked up from her paper and it took a moment before the horror sunk in. "Lian! Let go of that girl!"

The teacher looked at Ms. Sung and then back down at Azula who was staring daggers at her. Lian ignored the angry eyes of the seven year old and turned to Ms. Sung. "Why should I?"

The teachers had all the power at school, Azula had recognized that fact. Other than your own skill, they were the extra factor to getting top score. Azula had long ago decided that if she was to be the best the Academy had ever seen, she had to maintain a certain level of affection from the teachers. She had to keep them happy. Not this one, Azula thought bitterly as the woman tightly held onto her arm, this one would die.

"She's the princess." Ms. Sung hissed.

"Oh the princess is she?" Lian said plainly, not the least bit alarmed. The teacher looked down at Azula, "So you're a princess, are you?"

The commoner would be trembling for forgiveness soon, Azula thought, but she would not give it even if the woman begged.

"My father is Prince Ozai and my grandfather is Firelord Azulon and if you know what's good for you, you'll let me go." Azula declared.

That gave the tall woman pause and Azula couldn't help but smirk.

But then there was a great WOOSH and Azula screamed in pain as her arm felt like it was being torn out. Tears immediately sprung from her eyes and she yelled savagely, incoherently. She was dangling in the air and her feet kicked out trying to reach the older woman, but it was too far. She had not fully appreciated how tall the woman had been until she was looking eye to eye with the crazed teacher. The ground was so far away, it hurt just to look at it.

With nowhere else to look, Azula stared into the face of her attacker and immediately regretted it. The woman had pulled her hair in a ponytail so tight, it looked to be a blade coming from her head. The woman's skin was unwrinkled but weathered, rough and beaten like leather. Her skin looked tough enough to stop a blade, but the long scar across her chin showed that wasn't true. That wasn't the only mark of battle as Azula saw to her horror. Lian was missing her right eye and hadn't bothered to replace it or cover it. She had the decency to close her eyelid, but Azula saw how nothing seemed to be holding the skin back. The lid just formed over, but went flat where it should've curved. The remaining eye was worse, Azula felt her body go stiff as she finally met the teacher's single piercing gaze. Lian's eye shone golden and gleamed with the intensity of a madman. That single eye carried the look of a person that simply did not care what happened and that scared Azula more than anything.

"As you can tell, girl. You can't threaten me with any sort of punishment I haven't already experienced." She gave a sharp laugh, "And besides, I know your father and your grandfather." Lian bared her teeth in a terrible smile. "Azulon is my brother. Which makes you my great niece." 


End file.
